Technology impacts on curriculum of Library and Information Science (LIS) – a United States (US) perspective

Information technology (IT) has tremendously influenced and changed library and information services at libraries and information agencies. The education of library and information science (LIS) professionals is also strongly impacted by IT, because of the current need for changed competences of professional librarians and information scientists, and the consequent changes of educational pedagogies and instructional techniques. The changes driven by IT have presented a challenge to LIS education. The impacts of IT on LIS education involve the establishment of new curricula for LIS, new LIS course design, new ways to organize the LIS education (e.g. iSchools vs. L-Schools), the different knowledge backgrounds and competencies of LIS faculty, extensive recruitments of LIS students, and the expanded job markets and career opportunities for LIS graduates. In addition, the impacts of IT on LIS education will generate challenges such as the changing educational/instructional environment, competition between LIS education and education from other related subject fields, IT based teaching/instructing techniques, comprehensive assessments of LIS courses compared with other courses, and increasing possibilities for collaborations among LIS educational institutions.

This paper will present a quantitative analysis and comparative descriptions of several selected American LIS educational institutions for the above issues and conclude with some emerging trends on the curriculum and educational techniques for LIS education.